


And Memories Came Flooding

by melp



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, How Do I Tag, M/M, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Theon-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melp/pseuds/melp
Summary: "-on, Theon!""Huh?" Theon saw Robb looking at him, his blue eyes filled with concern.Blue eyes. Auburn brown hair. Just a bit of freckles on his cheeks. Full lips. Theon realized he was noticing these things about Robb alarmingly lot recently. He guessed it was a natural thing - Robb was quite good-looking. Anyone who didn't like looking at sightly people were idiots.No, he certainly did not develop a crush on his best and only friend.It's actually just a reincarnation fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. english is not my first language, so there are probably many grammar&vocabulary mistakes. it's also not beta-read(though i don't know what it exactly means).
> 
> 2\. i don't know how schools in places any other than my country work, so it might seem odd to people from other countries. but, there are not much school-related stuff sooo i guess it'd be fine??
> 
> 3\. it's reincarnation fic, so the characters' names should have been probably changed, but i wanted to keep them. so reincarnated theon is still theon, but i'm pretty sure the names won't be confusing to the readers.
> 
> 4\. i'm still catching up with the show(i'm in season 5 now&watched 8.03!!) so there might be some minor errors.
> 
> 5\. this fic is show exclusive, because i haven't read the books yet.

Theon stared at Robb, wondering how he ended up being best friends with him.

He knew, of course-. Somehow he could just never forget that day.

_He had been six years old, just moved into a new neighborhood, and without any friends. Or relatives. But he liked having no relatives there, so that could be counted as the positive side. The school was filled with children, but nobody was willing to approach Theon anymore when he responded to them with nothing more than indifference. Except Robb._

_It was lunchtime, and all the kids gathered in several groups and started eating and chattering. Theon was pretty much on his own, feeling awkward inside and trying to act as if he weren't feeling even a tiny bit lonely._

_"Hi." A boy said as he sat next to him._

_Then he began to unpack his lunch, not being any bit disturbed by Theon's lack of reaction._

_"I heard you are in Ms. T's class. You should be really really happy right now. Ms. T is so cool. I like her. My mum likes her, too. She comes to pick me and Jon and Sansa from school. So last month I saw Ms. T, and I said hello and she said hello back, and mum said hello to her too, and they talked, and at home I told mum Ms. T was so cool and she agreed with me."_

_Theon stared in silence, baffled, watching the boy - he didn't even tell him his name - talk enthusiastically about Theon's teacher._

_"I'm in Mr. L's class, by the way. He's nice, but I like Ms. T more. did she tell you about her fighting a big bear, um-" the boy abruptly stopped speaking, and gave Theon a sheepish smile._

_"Dad told me I had to tell my name to new friends. Sorry. I'm Robb." Robb extended his hand to Theon._

_Still baffled, Theon blurted, "Theon."_

_"Nice to meet you Theon." Robb grinned widely as he took Theon's hand for a handshake._

 

"-on, Theon!"

"Huh?" Theon saw Robb looking at him, his blue eyes filled with concern.

Blue eyes. Auburn brown hair. Just a bit of freckles on his cheeks. Full lips. Theon realized he was noticing these things about Robb alarmingly lot recently. He guessed it was a natural thing - Robb was quite good-looking. Anyone who didn't like looking at sightly people were idiots. _No, he certainly did not develop a crush on his best and only friend._

"Are you alright? I asked if you were going to stay for dinner later, but you didn't answer."

"Eh, I was just thinking. Can't stay for dinner today. Family dinner. And I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Stark wouldn't want me joining the Stark family supper four times in a row."

He could see Robb's brows furrowing at the mention of Greyjoy family dinner, but Robb didn't push it.

"Alright. Now we really need to focus on the project."

Robb turned his eyes back to his laptop screen, and Theon let his thoughts flow once again.

He wondered why Robb stayed as his friend. Though he wasn't like that to Robb, Theon still was a bit of an ass, and people other than Robb either didn't stand him or just laughed only at his snarky jokes, never more than that. On the other hand, Robb was - Robb. True, he was as stubborn as a rock, but he cared for other people, and didn't let any injustice pass by. He was quite popular among students, too. Theon sometimes thought Robb was perfect, and perhaps too good to be his friend. _Not that he was ever going to tell Robb this. He needed to maintain his reputation as the cynical one. And though he would never admit it, he knew he didn't want to know what Robb's response would be. He was scared Robb would agree that yes, Robb was too good for Theon, and had only been playing along with him, because he's a nice kid. Theon tried not to show anyone his insecurities._

 

"Urgh, why did you even choose the medieval times? There are not enough research materials for this." Robb groaned.

"Because," Theon answered with a side-eye, "I saw you couldn't take your eyes off Queen Sansa Stark of the North when we were choosing the topics. You would have been much grumpier right now if we didn't get to do it, I know.

"I don't get why you are so fixated on her, though. Is it because she does kinda remind you of your sister? I mean, her description's almost the same as Sansa - _hair touched by flames, bright eyes..._ She even has a family similar to yours. Raised as the second child of five, with a bastard half-brother - who actually wasn't, but that's how she thought it was - and look, the Starks even had a ward. I guess that'd be like me in our cas-"

"That's not- that's not why I wanted to research this," Robb cut through his sentence, "I just thought it was admirable that she was able to become so influential at that time. You know, the medieval times were harsh for women."

Theon hummed in agreement. "But you have to admit she does have the similarities with Sansa."

"Hm, maybe- I don't think she'd like it, though," Robb answered with a faint smile, "Our Sansa hopes for romance, and Sansa Stark's marriages weren't exactly nice."

"Yeah, Sansa's a romantic. Guess it runs in the family," Theon smirked.

"Why?"

Robb's face looked confused. _I don't get why my chest feels wrenched._ A dull throb hit Theon's chest. He used to be so good at this - talking about girls, that is - so that if it were a subject taught in high school, he would have topped in the entire school. But something changed recently. He felt awkward bringing the topic up to Robb. But he guessed it didn't matter much- Theon was Robb's cocky best friend, and teasing him was in the job description.

"Oh, come on- I've seen you with that Maegyr girl. Talisa, wasn't it?"

Robb's face immediately became the shade of flames.

"I- I- No! I don't like Talisa like _that_! I was just helping her out! She's new here, so I thought she'd feel better if there were people she could talk to."

Theon loved watching him blush and babble. Perfect Robb Stark always became flushed easily, reacting to every single one of Theon's japes and banters. Especially when it was about his or Theon's love life. Mostly Theon's, because Robb either had no interest in dating, or he hid his interests very well.

"Theon, why are you bringing this up?" Robb's face was still flushed as he looked at Theon tentatively.

"Why? Look, Robb- you are my best friend." - Robb's face brightened at the mention of _best friend_ \- "Don't ask me to repeat it, 'cause I'm not gonna admit it for another few months- And that means we gotta share our secrets. You know, I tell you about girls I like, you do the same, and we make jokes and laugh at each other for being lame. But _you're not exactly giving me any materials to work with._ "

Theon's stomach churned as he listened to himself. Who was he to talk about sharing secrets? When he was hiding his own feelings - whatever they were - from his best friend? _Maybe I need another reason that might hurt my conscience less._

"Plus- you know I'm an ass. You know how much I love teasing people about their insufferable crushes. Take Snow for example. Making fun of his obvious crush on Ygritte is the best part of going to school. Oh, you should have seen his face when I mentioned the redhead to him."

Theon laughed, remembering Jon Snow's ridiculous expression again. Robb's sulky brother was the best to get a reaction out of. However much he tried to look impassive to Theon, he could never hide his feelings - so he made the perfect target for Theon.

"Theon, you should really go easy on Jon," Robb responded, shaking his head fondly, "I think Ygritte covers your share of scaring Jon well enough. And-"

Robb's sincere eyes locked on to Theon's. He always had that fond but stern look on his face, making it impossible for Theon to ignore.

"I've been your best friend for, like, twelve years, so believe me, you are not much of an ass as you'd like to think."

Robb smiled, and Theon could feel the heat rising to his face. _Who could have imagined saying 'you're not an ass' could be so fucking stunning? Fuck, I got it bad. I am DEFINITELY crushing on him._ Alarms blared in his head.

"It's eleven," He blurted out.

"Huh?"

"It's been eleven years since we've been bes- friends. Friends."

Robb's curious expression morphed into a wide smile, eyes forming a teasing look.

"Are you telling me, Theon Greyjoy- that you have actually been _counting_ how many years we've been _best_ friends?"

_Shit._

"NO, f- fuck off, Stark-"

Robb grinned even more wider.

"I- I- _Don't_ even try mentioning it to others. _Especially Snow_ ," Theon hissed.

He was sure his face was as red as a boiled lobster. Robb's attractive face right in front of him wasn't helping either.

"You know I won't, Theon. Your secret's safe with me," Robb winked.

 _Robb winked._ Theon his head might burst from all the blood that was gathering to his head. _How the fuck was he able to do that? Make people blush so uncontrollably from just winking? Quick, he needed a way out of this situation._

"Uh, yeah, thanks- Look! It's getting late. Gotta go, family dinner, you have a good one, too, we'll finish research later. Bye."

Theon sputtered, scrambling out of Robb's room. _Damn smooth, you idiot._

"Theon?" Robb's voice called from behind.

"Yeah?"

Theon turned. Robb was still grinning. "See you tomorrow."

"You, too."

As Theon went down the stairs, he wondered if he had imagined the small blush on Robb's cheeks.

 

§

 

Theon closed the front door without making any noises. The Greyjoy household was quiet, which meant Balon Greyjoy hadn't returned from his work. _Great._ He was safe from Balon's continuous yells for now. But nowadays being alone led him to a shitty mood, not so much happy thoughts crawling up inside his head. He could feel them drowning him from inside.

Theon slowly went to his room, dropped his bag and fell on his bed. _Family dinner._ He thought of what he had told Robb previously. It was a lie. There were no family dinners with the Greyjoys. Not after his two brothers died, his mum was sent to a mental hospital, and Yara decided to leave the shitty household. Only his father and he were left in the house, and Balon Greyjoy was not one for familial acts. It was lucky for Theon if Balon just ignored him, because he loved to belittle him when he didn't.

 _Family dinner._ He tried to imagine what was going on in the Stark household now. _Catelyn Stark would greet her husband from work, their kids would set the table, and when they were all together, they would start eating, everyone talking about what happened today._ It wasn't that Theon envied the Starks. Though he was quite close with them - mostly because of Robb's insistence that Theon was to be included in the Starks' family events -, he didn't want to _be_ a Stark. But sometimes, when he just looked at their perfect family, he wished he could feel comfortable while being around them, and then despaired when he couldn't. It felt like he didn't have a place near them, or near anywhere.

 _Just wonderful._ He hated thinking about himself. A great need to change his mood rising, he decided to think about the reincarnations some people claimed they were experiencing. It was quite popular among people, the notion of reincarnation, so that people even took hypnoses tests to find out about their past lives. So far, there had been people who claimed to be The Mad King, a priestess of Light-God or whatever people of the old times believed in, and so on. Robb too had once seemed interested in the subject few years ago, but never brought it up afterwards. Probably because Theon acted as if he didn't care.

It was true, Theon didn't care about past lives. More like, he tried not to. Reincarnations were something to do with karma, right? People do good things, and then, _boom!_ They get reborn as a wealthy person or other good stuff. He hated that concept. It meant that past-Theon had been so shitty that he had to be born as the youngest of Greyjoys. He loved his poor mother, was quite friendly with his sister, but-. His older brothers used to punch him for no reason, making fun of him when he cried. His father was worse-. He somehow thought Theon getting beaten was his fault, because he wasn't _manly_ enough, and decided to ignore his entire existence - until Theon's brothers died. Since then he'd been giving Theon disapproving glares and yells whenever he saw his last son.

So, Theon didn't want to believe things such as karma and reincarnation existed. He'd rather focus on his life happening right now, thank you very much. He needed to concentrate on getting through the evening, not screwing up the history project, and dealing with Robb, now that Theon found out that he might be feeling something more than friendship towards his best friend.

Somehow tired, Theon closed his eyes and rubbed it mindlessly, slowly falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's irrelevant but I'm guessing Jon and Theon's first meeting would have gone like this:
> 
> "Theon, this is my brother, Jon."
> 
> "I'm your cousin."
> 
> "Jon, this is my best friend, Theon."
> 
> "We're friends?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i didn't think it would take this long to post the second chapter, but i'm doing finals right now and it was a bit hard to post it.  
> also, chapters are decided! two chapters done, two more to go!

_He remembered when they were thirteen and Robb came back from his two sick days - the worst days of Theon's life, he had nobody to talk to -, still pale with sickness, and asked him the question,_

_"Theon, do you believe in the reincarnation stuff?"_

_"Dunno, never gave a thought about it. Why, do you?"_

If that stuff is true, I bet he was a royalty. A king that everyone looked up to and loved- he would have been the kind-hearted and long-lived king, if his past life was anything like Robb now, _Theon thought._

_"Nah, I had nothing else to watch than a show about reincarnations that people are talking about nowadays. Like the man who claims to be the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen," Robb replied with a shrug._

_"THE Mad King? He must be out of his mind to say that. A complete nutter."_

_"Turns out he kinda is. But people are believing him more because of it. You know, the Mad King was also, well, mad."_

_Theon snorted at Robb's comment. "That makes sense."_

 

Theon stared at the hallway, feeling absolutely bored to death. Robb's meeting with his coach was getting late, and all the other students had gotten out of school by now. Kind Robb probably offered to help the coach with whatever problem he had. And while Theon would have been annoyed if it had been other people, he instead felt a small smile curve his mouth.

Because Robb was always _that_ nice. It was one of his most announced qualities - always willing to help. Maybe it was a first child thing. Robb was the first of five children - six if you include Jon - and learned to take care of his sisters and brothers from his early years. That could also explain why Theon, a youngest child, was bad at caring. Or maybe it was because Robb was quite mature for his age. From when they were kids, people liked to comment on how he was like a grown-up, and although Theon didn't exactly get it - Robb seemed like a teenager enough around him - but if many people said it, then it must be true, at least partially.

_Okay, maybe enough thinking about Robb right now._

Checklist for today: wait for Robb until he's over helping the coach, go with him to the library for research, to Stark residence to play games, and oh yeah, most importantly, try not to act weird around Robb. Which was going to be hard, since his entire day revolved around him. _So much for not thinking about him, dumbass._

"Waiting for your boyfriend?"

Theon turned to the source of the voice. Pale, glistening blue eyes pierced through him, lips curving into a smile of a child who had just been given a surprise present. Only, the smile had a bit more unnerving bite to it.

"Uh- what?"

"Your boyfriend," his mouth then formed a perfect o, "Oh, I'm sorry. He isn't, is he? Your boyfriend?"

Theon could feel the blush crawling up. _Was he that revealing? So much that even strangers could see it?_

"No, he isn't. He's just my friend," Theon said, glancing at the empty hallway again.

It seemed the answer had not satisfied the stranger enough. He didn't move away, and kept staring at Theon.

"Hmm. Well, I guess your _friend_ doesn't get what he's missing out, then."

"What do you-" Theon's head snapped towards the guy.

"Mean? It means that your _friend_ is clearly not appreciating what you could become, something more than yourself _alone_ , and I pity him for it. Not being able to _see_ you, like I do right now," he came closer, eyes fixated on Theon's.

"Wait, are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Why, you don't want me to? You said you weren't taken, after all."

Theon smirked. He still had his charms, that was good to hear. Some flirting was always good for his self-esteem. _Especially now that he had fallen for his probably-most-definitely straight one and only best friend and therefore didn't have a chance in winning his crush._

"Maybe- or maybe not. Can't decide. You didn't even tell me your name, you know."

"Oh, my bad. I guess I didn't. Ramsay Bolton," Ramsay said as he leaned closer.

That was the moment Robb had decided to come out of the coach's office.

"Theon," Robb called out.

Theon was surprised to see Robb - looking breathtaking as usual, _Theon really needed to get it together, didn't he?_ \- stare at Ramsay in such a cold, tense manner. His looks alone could have sent criminals on a run for their hide.

But Ramsay didn't run away and just watched Theon and Robb intently, curiosity reeking out.

"Theon, we're late. We need to go now," Robb called him again, eyes never leaving Ramsay.

Maybe they knew each other. And guessing from Robb's expression, it probably wasn't a friendly relation. _That was weird, Robb never hated anybody. Except Joffrey. But Joffrey was hated by everyone and Ramsay didn't seem like a bad guy._

_Well, he could ask Robb later, he didn't keep secrets away from Theon._

"You are the one who's late, ass. Now let's go- I don't want to find the library closed when we get there," Theon huffed.

Robb's face softened a bit at this. "The library's nowhere near closing time. You really need to visit it more often."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What am I supposed to do in a library anyways? Except for the stupid project? Sleep?"

Robb let out a laughter. "Come on, you dick. Let's finish the project quickly so that we can play games at my house," Robb said, grabbing and pulling Theon close by the shoulder.

 _Shit._ Theon never guessed that physical contact could be this overwhelming. His heart felt as if it were trying to jump out of its case, and his shoulder touched by Robb burned. _Keep it together. Act natural, dumbass. Control your blood from rushing to your face- what?? He didn't even make sense now. Shit._

Thankfully, Ramsay saved him from his unending train of thought.

"So, Theon-," he smiled.

"Uh- yeah?"

"I hope we can see each other again."

Theon grinned smugly. "Yeah, okay," _Ramsay was definitely into him._

He felt the grip on his shoulder tightening. Theon saw Robb, with clenched jaws, send out a deathly glare that Ramsay didn't seem to notice. He kept smiling at Theon, even waving a hand. Theon tried to wave back, too, but was caught by Robb tugging him to the exit.

 

§

 

The library was silent. Because that was how things should be.

Robb was silent. _That_ wasn't how things were supposed to be.

They should have been quietly making jokes by now. Or at least, Robb was supposed to react to Theon's attempts to make him laugh, while shushing him. Instead, Robb kept staring at the book pages, his entire body tense. And the pages weren't even getting turned.

Theon panicked a little inside. _What was he supposed to do? What did he usually do when Robb was this tense? Did Robb EVEN get tense like this before? Had Theon ever needed to lead him out of this kind of state?_

He decided to try the good-old-fashioned way. Plain asking, straight to the point.

"Robb, _Ro-_ "

"Robb?"

Maybe not.

Theon glanced up, and saw a girl approaching. It was Talisa Maegyr. He could also feel Robb trying to relax at his side.

_Oh._

Robb smiled, answering her, "Oh- hey, Talisa. What are you doing here?"

_Oh._

"Just checking out some books. You?" she blushed.

_This hurt._

"I was just doing research for class with- Oh, Talisa, this is Theon."

_It shouldn't, he knew he didn't have a chance with Robb._

"Theon! Glad to meet you."

Feeling as if his throat was clogged, Theon nearly missed his cue to come in.

"Uh- yeah. To you, too."

Talisa turned to Robb again. "I'll leave you to your research now. Good luck!"

Watching her walk out, Theon felt himself drowning again. He tried to lie to himself. He was fine. If Robb finally got a girlfriend, Theon would finally have something to tease him with. Best friend-Theon would have given a smug smile to Robb. Crushing-Theon just couldn't.

"You know what?" he asked, closing his book, "I think you're gonna be too distracted now. Let's just go to your place and play some games." _Who was he to talk about being distracted?_

Sighing, Robb replied, "Alright, we can finish this later."

 

§

 

The Stark household was peaceful as Robb and Theon went up the stairs, both of them still a bit silent. It wasn't surprising- Robb's mood hadn't gotten much better even after their brief encounter with Talisa, and Theon's devastation from their encounter was only just diminishing.

"Hey, Theon-" Bran called.

Theon saw Bran sitting on the couch downstairs, his gaze focused on Theon.

Theon stopped, replying "Huh?", as Robb continued to go up.

"You're a good man."

"Uh- thanks, Bran?"

Theon felt a bit uneasy. Bran's intense-but-somewhat-off stare only worsened it. If he didn't know Bran, he would have thought the boy was high or something. Apart from the fact that the kid was too young to do drugs, of course. And also, he knew Bran was just like that. Always. Maybe not always, because he remembered when Bran was a smiling toddler, excited by Robb and Sansa playing with him. But he became calmer as he got older - _which was a funny thing to say, since the kid was only 12_ \- and started saying wise but mysterious things to people around him.

 

Closing the door to Robb's room, Theon asked, "What would you do if your little brother did drugs?"

"What?" The confusion on Robb's face was just exceptional.

"Theon, are you doing drugs?" he asked, his worries visible on his face.

"What? No! What makes you think that? I'm the one who asked you what _you_ would do if _your_ brother did it!"

"I know, but Bran and Rickon are too young to try those stuff. And _you_ are the little brother in your house!"

"Seven hells, Robb-" Theon then stopped, commenting, "Okay. I think that was a rather reasonable conclusion."

At his remark, Robb burst out laughing.

"Gods, shouldn't you at least say, like, you would never do drugs?"

"But you had a point. And I think others would agree on it, too."

"Oh, gods-" Robb shook his head, still laughing. It took a while for him to recollect himself.

"...Are you feeling better now?" Theon asked, tentative.

Robb's face turned apologetic instantly. "Shit, I'm sorry I phased out at you earlier."

"It's alright. Weren't too worried, anyways." _He was_. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"There's nothing much to tell, you know."

"Not even Ramsay?" Theon blurted out.

Robb tensed up again. "I don't know why he's mentioned now. I don't even _know_ him."

Theon felt a bit disappointed. Robb was always honest with him, and though he could understand in his mind that Robb should be able to keep any secrets that he wanted to keep by himself, he was just not used to it. Robb keeping things away from him.

"Are you sure? You've been acting like this from the moment you met him. I noticed it."

"It's not-"

"-Like that? Come on, you looked at him as if he were Joffrey."

"Fine, he's a creep- I mean, he feels like a creep. I didn't want you to be near him, he's dangerous," Robb said, not meeting his eyes.

Theon knew that expression. There was something more in Robb's mind.

"We both know there's more to it," he murmured softly.

"No, there isn't," he still didn't meet Theon's eyes.

"Come on, Robb- tell me."

"No."

"Robb-"

Robb let out a chortled laugh.

"Well, I can't tell you that I hated seeing _him_ flirting with you when I was beside you, in love with you and I didn't even know you flirted with guys-" Robb paused abruptly, becoming rigid.

_What?_

_He didn't hear what he_ thought _he heard just now, did he?_

"Shit. Just forget you heard it."

 _Why would he say something like that? Did he know? Was this some kind of a joke?_ He panicked a little - a lot.

"Waitwaitwait- Let's just forget I heard it, _then_ start from the beginning, again. You _WHAT_?"

His ears ringing in panic, blocking sounds, Theon felt his brain short-circuit. _This had to be a joke. He_ didn't _believe it, Robb must have fucking found out Theon liked him and was using it as a chance to catch him off guard- Maybe it was a comeback for- last month?_

"Oh, you heard it alright! Look, man- forget-"

His heart clenched. _He fucking knew he didn't have a chance, Robb didn't need to bring it up and rub it on him._

" _Ha_ , Robb- a fucking nice one, I admit- But maybe you should have left it alone if you _knew_ about it, you know?"

"Wait, what?"

" _What_ what?"

"I know _what_?"

"Oh, stop fucking pretending- you know damn well I like you and you're-"

 _Oh. Robb genuinely didn't know._ A small voice in Theon's head whispered, _Then did this mean that- Did this mean-_

It seemed like realization dawned on Robb, too.

So, Robb was in love with him. Him, Theon. And Theon liked him, too. He never thought it was possible, Robb having romantic feelings for him. He thought, Robb was straight and liked girls like-

"What about the thing you have with Talisa?" Theon shouted.

Robb looked taken aback.

"What about- _You_ were the one who kept trying to imply I had something with Talisa, not me! Even after I told you I didn't like her that way!"

"Well, you _always_ say that about all your crushes! That you _don't like them_!"

It hit Theon like a huge truck.

"Oh," he could feel his entire body bursting into flames. He realized Robb was also reddening.

"So you-"

"Um, yeah."

Theon's brain was going to explode. He thought it was pacing inside his head, blaring sirens, panicking. _Okay, okay, maybe not okay- Robb- He- He liked Theon, for who knows how long- Theon's chest was bursting-_ Not knowing what to do, he decided to stick to the familiarity.

"So you've liked me for a long time, huh?" he said, his face still red while plastering on a smirk.

"Oh, come on- you said it too, you know," Robb groaned into his hands.

"I know, but you probably have liked me since you were like, ten? And that's so disgustingly adorable."

"Urgh- thirteen. It was thirteen."

"Hmm- I'm kinda disappointed you didn't fall for me earlier."

"Theon-."

"Hey, my charms are irresistible."

Robb chuckled at this, and they fell soon into a comfortable silence.

"You didn't even tell me you were bi," Robb murmured softly.

"Neither did you. Shit, I thought I'd never have the chance."

"For being best friends for twelve years, we suck at reading each other, don't we?"

"Eleven," Theon chided, "I told you it was eleven years."

Robb's face turned into a wide grin. "I know. I just like you correcting it. I like you showing me that you care about me- Care about us."

 _Fuck. How was he supposed to answer_ that _?_ He just couldn't do anything but let his entire body freeze. He hadn't realized how close the distance between them was.

Theon's eyes instantly went to Robb's lips. They looked so soft, and so near-. His eyes moved up to Robb's, and realized Robb was staring at his lips, too. He felt Robb's hand rise to his face, maybe shaking - _but it didn't matter, Theon's hands were shaking, too_ \- and felt him approach cautiously. Theon closed the space between them.

 

 _Theon. You're a good man._ Theon thought of what Bran said earlier. _If Bran had known he'd be kissing his brother, he might have said different words._ Theon chuckled softly into the kiss.

 _Theon, you're a good man. Thank you_ , Bran had said.

No.

It wasn't Bran. The voice was older, and Theon clearly remembered Bran _not_ saying 'thank you' afterwards.

But then- who was it? Why did Theon remember the voice and words?

His body tensed. Memories came flooding after.

 

He was stabbed by the Night King, his life draining out.

 _Theon, you're a good man. Thank you_.

He took out the wights, arrow by arrow.

He came to Winterfell, hoping to fight by his family.

He rescued his sister - _Yara_ \- from the Silence.

He abandoned her, jumping into the sea.

He helped Sansa escape, to Jon.

He was Reek, he let Ramsay hurt her.

He heard of Robb's death, at the Red Wedding.

He-

 

"...Theon?"

He hadn't even realized he backed out from the kiss.

Theon saw Robb watching him, worried to death, face still a bit flushed from the kiss.

Theon saw Robb, trusting him to return with the army he promised.

"I- I have to go. Sorry." Theon grabbed his bag and stumbled out, not meeting his eyes. He could hear Robb calling him, but couldn't answer.

 

More memories came flooding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm hoping ramsay's flirting came out as a bit creepy, but not too much. but i don't know much about flirting itself, soo....


End file.
